Diskeeper, often abbreviated DK, is a disk defragmenter originally for the VAX series of mainframe computers and later released for Microsoft Windows. It is the flagship product of Diskeeper Corporation (formerly Executive Software) of Burbank, California, founded on July 22, 1981.

The defragmenter program included with the Windows 2000, 2003, and XP operating systems is based on a basic version of a previous Diskeeper version. Lenovo has also shipped versions of Diskeeper with ThinkPad laptops.

Features

A new feature in Diskeeper 2007 is automatic defragmentation, an improvement over the previous scheduling functionality. Automatic defragmentation defragments files on-the-fly, using only idle system resource as needed. Because of this, schedules no longer need to be setup and disk performance is kept at a higher and more constant level.

Another feature in Diskeeper is "Intelligent File Access Acceleration Sequencing Technology" (I-FAAST). When enabled, I-FAAST determines the frequency of file usage and the most frequently used files are then moved to the most optimal portion of the disc. According to Diskeeper, this results in faster file access and also helps prevent future fragmentation of those files. The I-FAAST feature is available in Pro Premier and Server editions.

There are six versions available: Home, Professional, Pro Premier, HomeServer, Server, and EnterpriseServer. Diskeeper Administrator is also available to manage Diskeeper options as well as perform advanced installations. Version 10 was the last version available for Windows 9x. After version 10, Diskeeper versions follow the year based naming convention, that is, 2007, 2008 and so on.

Controversy

The inclusion of the Diskeeper utility in Windows 2000 was the subject of controversy in Germany. The CEO of Executive Software is an outspoken Scientologist, and the German government has historically been skeptical of Scientology, unofficially considering it similar to Nazism. Before endorsing Windows 2000 for use on German government servers, the Federal Office of Security in Information Technology (BSI) demanded Microsoft allow them to examine source code to determine that the software was not secretly monitoring and transmitting user data. The controversy was resolved when Microsoft published a utility that allowed users to remove Diskeeper if they chose.

See also

• File system fragmentation
• Defragmentation
• Diskeeper Corporation
• List of defragmentation software

References

External links

• Official site
• Diskeeper Blog
• Diskeeper 2007 Review